[ Stealth: 1 → 2 ]
My stats kept increasing while I hid, and the reason was clear.
Never before had I been in such a disadvantageous position.
And even though it almost made me want to cry…
It was exactly that which made me grow stronger at an ever-faster pace.
So instead of running away, I approached even more. Carefully observing each of their movements and learning all their tendencies.
'Three of them are heading toward the kitchen, two to the garden, four to the bedrooms.'
Which should I attack first?
The garden is a neutral environment, where no one has an advantage.
The bedrooms favor them, since they can surround me with ease.
But the kitchen has height differences I can use to my advantage, not to mention potential situational weapons.
I smiled, satisfied, running toward the kitchen, a plan forming in my mind.
Using my small and slender body, I got there first and quickly analyzed the scene.
Several male and female servants were performing their usual tasks, handling knives against meat and vegetables as well as pots filled with hot liquids.
Before I realized it, the first bark rang out.
The entire kitchen froze momentarily as I jumped onto the counter and walked toward the pots.
The servants screamed as wolves cut their way through them, making them drop utensils to the floor.
Soon they were below me, barking and snarling fiercely, certain of their victory.
I smiled with amusement before pushing the pot of hot water onto them.
The wolves didn't react until the last moment, when the water finally began to scald their skin.
With a sharp cry, they backed away with their tails between their legs while I leapt to another counter and pushed more heavy pots onto them.
The simple weight along with the acceleration of the fall left them dazed, the loud impact making their brains rattle inside their skulls.
And at that moment, I finally jumped on top of the first one, sinking my claws firmly into its neck as I tore off chunks of flesh.
Soon it fell weakly, giving its last breaths, while the other two gradually recovered and focused on me.
'Two wounded against one unharmed, not too bad. However…'
WOOOSH
I immediately released my aura as I advanced on one more of them.
The action momentarily paralyzed them, and that was enough for one to lose its life.
[ Bite: 1 → 2 ]
Once again I sank my fangs into my prey's neck. This time, however, there was a deep crack as the wolf lost the light of life in its eyes.
The last one quickly broke free from the aura's effect and, though still weakened, tried to lunge at me with a bite.
I struck immediately with my paw; the hot water plus the impact from the pots and my aura had weakened it to the point where a single blow knocked it out.
[ Strike: 1 → 2 ]
In little time, the fight was over.
[ You killed a Wolf ]
[ You killed a Wolf ]
[ You killed a Wolf ]
[ Exp: 750 → 15000 ]
[ Level up: 11 → 12 ]
[ Level up: 12 → 13 ]
[ Aura: 60 → 100 ]
'With this, the second mutation is ready…' I sharpened my hearing, sensing something approaching rapidly.
'They're coming again… the screams must've alerted them.' I quickly surveyed my surroundings; there wasn't much else I could use.
'Time to retreat.' I darted away, trying once more to shake off my pursuers.
Far from there, I began counting how many wolves remained.
'Six left now. They'll probably gather even more after this. Fighting a group without any advantage is risky… I need to evolve again…'
I sighed deeply at the thought.
Although I needed to evolve, there was a big problem. Evolution was a violent process that could end in my death.
And it demanded a massive amount of energy afterward.
'I need to find a safe place and fill it with food… but such a place simply doesn't exist, and I can't store food.'
Any meat I stored would emit a scent unmistakable to my pursuers, who would find me mid-evolution and kill me.
Storing food is a problem on its own.
Finding a safe place is just as bad…
I sighed again, trying to reassess my options.
After much thought, I finally reached a conclusion.
'I'm not going to like this…'
I quickly made my way through the castle, to the bedrooms.
At every step my guard was up—wolves could be waiting around any corner for me to pass by.
In the bedroom wing, I finally began sniffing, trying to discern a specific scent among the crowd of residents.
With no trouble at all, I soon found my target and approached a door.
Skrr Skrr Skrr
I scratched the door a few times while waiting for a response.
Shortly after, I heard movement on the other side as footsteps approached and the door opened cautiously.
Only a red eye peeked through the gap, looking around fearfully.
"Shit!!!"
But the moment that eye landed on me was the moment she screamed in terror and slammed the door shut.
Her sharp scream was cute.
But being afraid of an ordinary tiger cub was even cuter.
Skrr Skrr Skrr
"Go away, I'm not ready yet and I don't want to die!"
[ I won't kill you anytime soon, calm down. ]
"That is not the kind of answer that calms someone!"
I laughed amused; all that talk about being a legacy beast was interesting to me.
But at the end of the day, that applied to ordinary beasts—my soul was human.
I didn't feel so compelled to seek revenge, though I found it interesting that they had this notion.
I prefered to play along.
After all, that was exactly what they wanted from me.
However, I had more control over my emotions than common beasts, and that made a big difference.
[ As far as I know, it's your duty to make me stronger, and I need to evolve, so help me now. ]
"What? Already? Again?" She opened the door just enough to see me.
Again, she gulped upon noticing I had grown once more.
[ Boo! ]
WOOSH
I released my aura toward her, making her fall on her back with a sharp yelp.
I widened the gap and entered the room while she was still massaging her sore backside.
"The aura grew… again…" she muttered, holding back tears. "What the hell is my father doing…"
'That's a question I've been asking myself often… that bastard king, there's something very wrong with him and with this kingdom.'
I sighed internally before approaching her.
[ I want food, lots of food—big animals with lots of delicious meat. ]
She shuddered, still eyeing me up and down.
"Just so I know… humans don't count as big animals to you, right?"
[...]
"I mean… at least I count as a small, cute animal, right?" She cautiously stepped away from me.
[ Deer, boars, pigs, cattle—that's what I want. I've never eaten human meat. ]
"Great, keep it that way! Humans are bad, the taste is terrible!" She immediately stood up and ran toward the kitchen.
Leaving me alone in the room…
I looked around curiously.
This was a princess's room, and without a doubt it was very luxurious.
I confirmed once more that the door was tightly closed and began exploring the place.
Agnes's room had a balcony, and I soon approached it to observe the city below…
The sun was setting, the sky shifting between shades of purple and orange, and the clouds were sparse.
A gentle breeze moved my fur as I breathed in air… not so pure, but good enough.
Not bad at all.
Suddenly, I yawned, drowsiness taking over my body.
It was at that moment I realized I had been running for so long without any chance to rest.
Without thinking too much, I approached the princess's luxurious bed and lay down.
Sleep quickly overtook me, and soon I was dreaming.
The dreams, however… were terrible…
No matter how hard I tried, I always saw only the worst side of humans in them.
Opening my eyes without having rested at all, I simply took another deep breath.
'Being a legacy beast means I'm supposed to become obsessed with revenge, and that should motivate me to get stronger. But I don't need that.'
Remembering my time as a human, I quickly began using breathing techniques, clearing my mind.
[ Your feats have been recognized; you have gained the skill [Circulation Technique (Lv.1)] ]
[ Your feats have been recognized; you have gained the skill [Resistance to Mental Attacks (Lv.1)] ]
Before long, I fell asleep again—and this time, I had good dreams.
A few hours later, the bedroom door opened as Agnes ordered the servants to place dozens and dozens of pieces of meat in front of the bed.
She sighed in relief—it was hard gathering so much food at once.
Even so, fear gripped her heart as she did it. She knew she was feeding her future enemy.
However, once she finished and looked at her bed—where a big, chubby kitten was softly snoring—
She could only smile, satisfied.